1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a method of recycling hermetically encapsulated alternative compressor units (piston compressors) of refrigerators of small and medium power rating and apparatus for implementing the method
2. Discussion of Background Information
The problem of recycling hermetically encapsulated alternative compressor units of refrigerators of small and medium power rating, i.e. refrigerators omnipresent in every household, has become more important in recent times in view of the very large number of refrigerators being scrapped worldwide, and that in each hermetically sealed compressor unit a certain quantity of refrigerant liquid remains, which is to be eliminated most efficiently and without losses. Also recuperating the materials of which the compressor unit (Iron, cast elements, copper, alloys, etc.) consists is important and is to be effected most efficiently.
This known recycling system still presents a number of ecologic and economic disadvantages, which can be overcome in the following manner:                The compressors still contain a noticeable quantity of refrigerant oil emulsions with the ozone damaging gases CFC and HCFC.        
Crushing contaminates the fragmented particles with the oil emulsion, thus causing intensified contamination in the following form:                Emission of substances affecting the climate due to the well-known greenhouse effect,        Ozone damaging emissions causing the dreaded hole in the ozone layer.        
Furthermore the crushing process is expensive requiring complex machinery, cost being increased further due to the necessity that the powders, or granules respectively, resulting from the various treatment phases must be precipitated and upgraded further.
Notwithstanding the fact that the present invention basically deals with systems apt to eliminate oil emulsions remaining in the compressors it is to be explained in more detail in which manner these systems, as applied today, function in order to solve said problem. Two systems are applied:
The first mentioned system aims at expelling oil emulsions from the severed small copper tubes that connect the compressor with the cooling unit; said system, however, presents the following disadvantages:                The necessity of making up, for each compressor model, mounting frames of suitable shape and dimensions, apt to maintain the compressor in the position correctly tilted for draining,        The necessity of providing sealing vessels for taking up the oil emulsions,        The necessity of effecting the separation of the small copper tubes without squashing them or, expressed in other words, without clogging or obstructing the draining of the oil emulsions; normally the small copper tubes are just sheared off, and the draining process is very slow and time consuming.        The elements inside still contain some oil emulsion and for complete draining various tilting operations, waiting periods and corresponding rearrangements for draining the residual liquid are required.        These operations are effected manually and are very time consuming and quite cost intensive and thus not suited for industrial operations.        
The second applied system consists in opening a hole in the envelope of the compressor unit, entailing the following inconveniences:                The necessity of performing the operation manually,        The necessity of preparing mounting frames suitable for holding each compressor model for the draining process,        The necessity of preparing sealing vessels for collecting the oil emulsions,        The necessity of effecting successive tilting operations, waiting periods and repositioning operations ensuring complete draining of the oil emulsions still contained in the inner elements, this manual procedure being time consuming and cost intensive, and thus rather unsuitable in industrial operations.        